Ryan Wylie, Monaghan, and Eoin Harkin, Meath, in Allianz Football League action. Photo by Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile
Allianz Football League Division Two
Monaghan 1-29 (1-6-17) Meath 1-20
By Paul Keane at Páirc Tailteann
A year after dropping out of Division One after a decade in the top flight, Monaghan are on the brink of an immediate return to football's elite.
Fully focused and power packed throughout this Round 6 encounter, the Farney turned in a huge performance that wiped out fellow promotion chasers Meath.
They led by 15 points at half-time after registering no less than five two-pointers with the wind and cruised home from there. If they draw with Down at home next weekend they will be guaranteed to finish top of Division Two, also ensuring a league final appearance.
Captain Micheal Bannigan helped himself to eight points while Jack McCarron, who only came on midway through the first-half, hit seven points on a day when the Ulster side took full advantage of the new 40m arc.
They registered six two-pointers in all while the speed and hard running of Stephen O'Hanlon caused the Meath defence all sorts of problems.
O'Hanlon finished with four points, the same as goalkeeper Rory Beggan who nailed two two-point frees and who, significantly, also opted to cross the half-way line and join Monaghan's attacks despite the latest tweak in the rules.
The result was a real blow for Meath who produced their most disappointing performance of the campaign and who slipped to their biggest defeat having began the day locked at the head of Division Two on eight points with Monaghan.
They were slightly understrength, but still couldn't have expected to hit the interval trailing by 15 points after a horror first period. All is not lost for the Royals in promotion terms though as they can still potentially go up if they beat Louth next weekend.
Meath will console themselves that they weren't at full strength with Mathew Costello a notable absentee while there was no Shane Walsh either in attack.
Boss Robbie Brennan made four changes to his team in all with Eoin Harkin returning in defence, seasonal starts for Cian McBride and Sean Ryan and a return also for Keith Curtis.
Out of the team went Adam O'Neill, Brian O'Halloran, Thomas O'Reilly and Walsh whilst Monaghan drafted in Louis Kelly and Ryan McAnespie for Kieran Duffy and McCarron.
It quickly became apparent that Meath had not hit upon the right mix because when Monaghan took the lead for the first time in the 12th minute, a Beggan two-pointer from a free, they quickly left Meath in their rear view mirror.
Beggan became an increasingly important character in Meath's demise with the netminder breaking the weekend trend of goalkeepers remaining tethered to their goalline following the latest rules tweak.
Twice he played a hand in first-half Monaghan scores after joining the attack - for McAnespie and McCarron - and he stroked over that two pointer.
Not even losing full-back Killian Lavelle to a serious looking shoulder/arm injury could halt the Farney's gallop.
Meath were overwhelmed for long periods and fell eight points behind when McAnespie burst clear down the right and fed Woods for the opening goal in the 21st minute, 1-10 to 0-5.
Monaghan then reeled off three two-pointers in a row between the 25th and 27th minutes, from Gary Mohan, the increasingly influential McCarron and captain Micheal Bannigan.
By half-time they were almost out of sight with a 1-20 to 0-8 lead though Meath would at least have the stiff breeze in the second-half.
They were boosted by an early goal after the restart too, skipper Eoghan Frayne palming in after Aaron Lynch's clever ball across.
Lynch came on at half-time and had a considerable impact, scoring two third-quarter points and winning a free that Frayne converted.
Frayne also fired over Meath's first two-pointer from a free won by Sigerson Cup winner Ciaran Caulfield, leaving 10 in it with 56 minutes played, 1-25 to 1-15.
Meath supporters roared their encouragement but it was a giant ask to expect them to reel in a Monaghan side still creating plenty of opportunities.
Meath struggled to cope with O'Hanlon's pace and direct running in particular. The speedy number 10 drew a booking for a foul by Sean Rafferty which Bannigan converted to leave Monaghan 1-28 to 1-17 up with six minutes left.
Scorers for Monaghan: Micheal Bannigan 0-8 (1tp, 2fs, 1m), Jack McCarron 0-7 (1tpf, 1tp, 2f), Stephen O'Hanlon 0-4, Rory Beggan 0-4 (2 tpf), Andrew Woods 1-0, Gary Mohan 0-2 (tp), Conor McCarthy 0-2, Ryan McAnespie 0-1, Ciaran McNulty 0-1.
Scorers for Meath: Eoghan Frayne 1-6 (0-3f, 1 tpf), Jordan Morris 0-4 (1f), Ruairi Kinsella 0-4 (2 tp), Aaron Lynch 0-2 (0-1m), Jack Kinlough 0-2, Jack Flynn 0-1, Bryan Menton 0-1.
Monaghan: Rory Beggan; Dylan Byrne, Killian Lavelle, Ryan O'Toole; Louis Kelly, Ryan Wylie, Conor McCarthy; Gary Mohan, Micheal McCarville; Ryan McAnespie, Micheal Bannigan, Ciaran McNulty; David Garland, Andrew Woods, Stephen O'Hanlon.
Subs: Kieran Duffy for Lavelle 6, Jack McCarron for Kelly 18, Dessie Ward for McAnespie 52, Joel Wilson for Garland 62, Darren Hughes for Mohan 67.
Meath: Billy Hogan; Donal Keogan, Sean Rafferty, Seamus Lavin; Eoin Harkin, Sean Ryan, Ciaran Caulfield; Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Keith Curtis, Jack Kinlough, Conor Duke; Jordan Morris, Cian McBride, Eoghan Frayne.
Subs: Brian O'Halloran for Sean Ryan h/t, Aaron Lynch for McBride h/t, Ruairi Kinsella for Curtis 47, Shane Walsh for Harkin 64.
Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow).
